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Ketone checking

Huw_Appleby

Member
Messages
6
Hey everyone, just a quick question! I’ve been T1 for 27 years now, no complications as I’m very well controlled.

My question is this... I’ve recently gone onto the Libre I’m still an old school finger pricker aha, it comes with ketone testing strips! It’s never been discussed between me and my consultant about testing my ketone levels. Is it something I should be doing or is it something to do if the consultant tells you to do so.

Many thanks for the help,

Huw
 
Probably worth having them if you're ill and your bg levels are stubbornly high. I've been T1 for 50 years now and last year mentioned to my specialist that I've never had a DKA and never felt the need to check for ketones. (Other than a tub of urine testing strips that gets pulled out if I'm ill and/or paranoid). She looked at me in horror and upgraded my meter to one that tests for ketones as well as sugar. If I actually was running high ketones then I'd need it, and I admit to stocking up on strips to cope with possible coronavirus, but I ignore the "test for ketones" that comes up on my meter if I briefly peak high. But if I had flu or COVID I would definitely use them.

But those ketone testing strips are expensive! Something to have in reserve, I feel, but not necessarily for everyday use.
 
Many thanks for the reply, I understand what you mean! My control is always good but was just curious as it’s NEVER been mentioned to me from my consultant. I feel very healthy and keep in good physical shape.

I’ll have a discussion with my consultant when I see him next to see what he thinks is best.

Thanks for the reply
 
Ketone tests are more useful for pumpers as DKA can quickly develop if insulin infusion is stopped for some reason. I test ketones to see if I am in dietary ketosis. I never miss my basal shot, so DKA has never been a concern.
 
Hi Mark, thanks for the reply! Yeah I assumed this, I still use my trusty pens, Novo Rapid and Lantus so there is always insulin in my body.

I was just curious to see what other people thought as it’s never been mentioned to me and was slightly concerned that maybe I should be checking it.

Thanks for the reply mate
 
@EllieM same happened to me when I ended up in A&E after a bad illness. The Dr was horrified I was still using urine strips. Diabetes team had me a monitor and strips within 24 hours. That was a year ago and I have still not used any as not been ill again. Have to be careful as they are very expensive. Plus they go out of date. Would not use them just for a high sugar.
 

Hey Bec, thanks for the reply! Yeah, I understand now it’s more for checking when you’re really ill etc which make sense. Like I mentioned above, this post was just purely curiosity as I wasn’t interested to see what other people thought.

Thanks for the reply again
 
WAS interested in what people thought
 
Ketone test strips are nice to have for an emergency situation. The problem is they tend to have short (less than 1 year?) expiry dates so we can’t keep them for emergency. They go off. I don’t use them and I don’t keep them.
 
I would say have them in date ...you never know ...I needed them in greece out of the blue ..bloods being stupid
Wow 2.5 ..keytones .
 
I get 10 strips at a time. If they end up out of date then I will order some more. At A&E the Dr told me that would cost the NHS less than not using them, if I happened to be very ill and needed to monitor the large dose of extra insulin I would need to keep taking to remain at home in control. Only use when actually ill. Hopefully should only need 10 strips a year. Cheaper than DKA creeping up unawares.
 
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